Chapter 6

And there followed another angel, saying, Babylon is fallen, is fallen, that great city, because she made all nations drink of the wine of the wrath of her fornication. Revelation 14:8

 

In the Adventist church, despite evidence to the contrary the idea has become common that the Catholic Church was responsible for the preservation of the Bible and that we Protestants ought to be thankful to them for it. We are being told that without Roman Catholicism we would be without the Bible. How absurd that such a thing would be promoted by our own people! If you, dear reader have come to believe that idea I ask that you go back and read The Great Controversy. There you will learn what every Protestant used to know, that it was the pope and priests that tried to destroy it.

The priests were alarmed at the thought that the common people would now be able to discuss with them the precepts of God's word, and that their own ignorance would thus be exposed. The weapons of their carnal reasoning were powerless against the sword of the Spirit. Rome summoned all her authority to prevent the circulation of the Scriptures; but decrees, anathemas, and tortures were alike in vain. The more she condemned and prohibited the Bible, the greater was the anxiety of the people to know what it really taught. All who could read were eager to study the word of God for themselves. They carried it about with them, and read and reread, and could not be satisfied until they had committed large portions to memory. Seeing the favor with which the New Testament was received, Luther immediately began the translation of the Old, and published it in parts as fast as completed. Great Controversy p. 194

The Waldenses were among the first of the peoples of Europe to obtain a translation of the Holy Scriptures. Hundreds of years before the Reformation they possessed the Bible in manuscript in their native tongue. They had the truth unadulterated, and this rendered them the special objects of hatred and persecution. They declared the Church of Rome to be the apostate Babylon of the Apocalypse, and at the peril of their lives they stood up to resist her corruptions. While, under the pressure of long-continued persecution, some compromised their faith, little by little yielding its distinctive principles, others held fast the truth. Through ages of darkness and apostasy there were Waldenses who denied the supremacy of Rome, who rejected image worship as idolatry, and who kept the true Sabbath. Under the fiercest tempests of opposition they maintained their faith. Though gashed by the Savoyard spear, and scorched by the Romish fagot, they stood unflinchingly for God's word and His honor. Great Controversy p. 65

The war against the Bible, carried forward for so many centuries in France, culminated in the scenes of the Revolution. That terrible outbreaking was but the legitimate result of Rome's suppression of the Scriptures. It presented the most striking illustration which the world has ever witnessed of the working out of the papal policy-- an illustration of the results to which for more than a thousand years the teaching of the Roman Church had been tending. Great Controversy p. 265

The suppression of the Scriptures under the dominion of Rome, the terrible results of that suppression, and the final exaltation of the word of God, are vividly portrayed by the prophetic pencil. To John the exile on lonely Patmos was given a view of the 1260 years during which the papal power was permitted to trample upon God's word and oppress his people. Said the angel of the Lord: "The holy city [the true church] shall they tread under foot forty and two months. And I will give power unto my two witnesses, and they shall prophesy a thousand two hundred and threescore days, clothed in sackcloth."[REV. 11:2, 3] The periods here mentioned are the same, alike representing the time in which God's faithful witnesses remained in a state of obscurity. Spirit of Prophecy Vol. 4 p. 188

Satan well knew that the Holy Scriptures would enable men to discern his deceptions and withstand his power. It was by the word that even the Saviour of the world had resisted his attacks. At every assault, Christ presented the shield of eternal truth, saying, "It is written." To every suggestion of the adversary, He opposed the wisdom and power of the word. In order for Satan to maintain his sway over men, and establish the authority of the papal usurper, he must keep them in ignorance of the Scriptures. The Bible would exalt God and place finite men in their true position; therefore its sacred truths must be concealed and suppressed. This logic was adopted by the Roman Church. For hundreds of years the circulation of the Bible was prohibited. The people were forbidden to read it or to have it in their houses, and unprincipled priests and prelates interpreted its teachings to sustain their pretensions. Thus the pope came to be almost universally acknowledged as the vicegerent of God on earth, endowed with authority over church and state. Great Controversy p. 51

Does that sound like we should have an appreciation to Rome for the preservation of the Bible? I don’t think so. Has Rome changed her ways?

The Lord has pronounced a curse upon those who take from or add to the Scriptures. The great I AM has decided what shall constitute the rule of faith and doctrine, and he has designed that the Bible shall be a household book. The church that holds to the word of God is irreconcilably separated from Rome. Protestants were once thus apart from this great church of apostasy, but they have approached more nearly to her, and are still in the path of reconciliation to the Church of Rome. Rome never changes. Her principles have not altered in the least. She has not lessened the breach between herself and Protestants; they have done all the advancing. But what does this argue for the Protestantism of this day? It is the rejection of Bible truth which makes men approach to infidelity. It is a backsliding church that lessens the distance between itself and the Papacy. Signs of the Times 02-19-94

Now Satan can no longer keep the Bible from the people. He still hates it and its Author so how does he try to destroy its influence?

As Satan saw that he had failed to crush out the truth by persecution, he again resorted to the same plan of compromise which had led to the great apostasy and the formation of the church of Rome. He induced Christians to ally themselves, not now with pagans, but with those who, by their worship of the god of this world, as truly proved themselves idolaters. Satan could no longer keep the Bible from the people; it had been placed within the reach of all. But he led thousands to accept false interpretations and unsound theories, without searching the Scriptures to learn the truth for themselves. He had corrupted the doctrines of the Bible, and traditions which were to ruin millions were taking deep root. The church was upholding and defending these traditions, instead of contending for the faith once delivered to the saints. Spirit of Prophecy Vol. 4 p.195

How Satan would exult to have a message go broadcast, that the only people whom God has made the repositories of His law, are the ones to whom this message applies. The wine of Babylon is the exalting of the false and spurious Sabbath above the Sabbath which the Lord Jehovah hath blessed and sanctified for the use of man, also the immortality of the soul. These kindred heresies, and the rejection of the truth convert the church into Babylon. Kings, merchants, rulers, and religious teachers are all in corrupt harmony. Manuscript Releases Vol. 1 p. 302

The wine of Babylon is the exalting of the false and spurious sabbath and the immortality of the soul. That is what it says here, right? So if Rome wanted to promote those ideas wouldn’t they attempt to make Protestants think that those doctrines were biblical? As we recall again the texts that say not to diminish a word of God, and we remember that Christ said that not a jot or tittle would pass from the law, let’s look at the Ten Commandments as viewed by the translators of some versions of the Bible. Here it is in the KJV:

But the seventh day is the sabbath of the LORD thy God: in it thou shalt not do any work, thou, nor thy son, nor thy daughter, thy manservant, nor thy maidservant, nor thy cattle, nor thy stranger that is within thy gates For in six days the LORD made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that in them is, and rested the seventh day: wherefore the LORD blessed the sabbath day, and hallowed it. Exodus 20:10 & 11 KJV

But the seventh day is the sabbath of the LORD thy God: in it thou shalt not do any work, thou, nor thy son, nor thy daughter, nor thy manservant, nor thy maidservant, nor thine ox, nor thine ass, nor any of thy cattle, nor thy stranger that is within thy gates; that thy manservant and thy maidservant may rest as well as thou. Deut. 5:14 KJV

Now here is what some other versions do with those texts:

"but the seventh day is a Sabbath to the Lord..." Ex. 20:10 and Deut. 5:14 NIV

"but the seventh day is a Sabbath to the Lord..." Ex. 20:10 and Deut. 5:14 RSV

"but the seventh day is a Sabbath of the Lord..." Ex. 20:10 and Deut. 5:14 NEB

How many Sabbaths are there? God made only one. God recognizes only one. There is no other day mentioned in the Bible as being God’s Sabbath. To say that the seventh day is a Sabbath is like saying that our president lives in a white house. Which white house does he live in? I live in a white house, does the president live with me? No. His white house is the white house. And God’s Sabbath is the one and only Sabbath!

Those who have true Bible religion will yield their will to God's will as supreme, and will reverence God by rendering obedience to his righteous and just laws. They will place themselves under the blood-stained banner of Prince Emmanuel, and acknowledge themselves as under the control of the Ruler, not only of earthly intelligences but of the hosts of heaven. Can man frame a constitution for the governing of the world that is better adapted to the purpose than that which God has framed? In what particular is the moral code wanting? Can it be amended by finite men? If so, then man can exalt himself to the place of God. Can the human family afford to do without one of the commandments that God has given? Read the Ten Commandments carefully, and see which one can be dropped out. The man of sin thinks himself able to change the times and the laws of God, and the Protestant world have accepted the authority of the papal power, and in so doing have apostatized from God. All nations have been made drunk by partaking of the wine of Babylon, by accepting the presumptuous work of the man of sin, who has tampered with the law of God, and thought to change the precepts of Jehovah. Signs of the Times 11-14-95

Satan decided to go still further. He told his angels that some would be so jealous of God's law that they could not be caught in this snare; that the ten commandments were so plain that many would believe that they were still binding; therefore he must seek to corrupt the fourth commandment which brings to view the living God. He led on his representatives to attempt to change the Sabbath, and alter the only commandment of the ten which brings to view the true God, the maker of the heavens and the earth. Satan presented before them the glorious resurrection of Jesus, and told them that by his rising on the first day of the week, he changed the Sabbath from the seventh to the first day of the week. Thus Satan used the resurrection to serve his purpose. He and his angels rejoiced that the errors they had prepared took so well with the professed friends of Christ. What one might look upon with religious horror, another would receive. The different errors would be received, and with zeal defended. The will of God plainly revealed in his word, was covered up with error and tradition, which have been taught as the commandments of God. But although this heaven-daring deception was to be suffered to be carried on down through time until the second appearing of Jesus, yet through all this time of error and deception, God has not been left without a witness. There have been true and faithful witnesses keeping all of God's commandments through the darkness and persecution of the church. Spiritual Gifts. Vol. 1 p. 111

Who says that Satan cannot put the above deception in writing? Why would Christ promise us that not one jot or tittle would pass until all be fulfilled unless it were going to be attempted? Why didn’t Christ say, "Jots and tittles will pass from the law but don’t worry, somehow you will figure out what is right." Why would we be warned that if possible Satan could deceive the very elect? If Satan couldn’t make ‘an almost overpowering delusion’, why did God warn us about one? God’s messenger, Ellen White, in vision saw the following:

It was represented to me that the remnant followed Jesus into the most holy place and beheld the ark and the mercy seat, and were captivated with their glory. Jesus then raised the cover of the ark, and lo! the tables of stone, with the ten commandments written upon them. They trace down the lively oracles, but start back with trembling when they see the fourth commandment among the ten holy precepts, with a brighter light shining upon it than upon the other nine, and a halo of glory all around it. They find nothing there informing them that the Sabbath has been abolished, or changed to the first day of the week. The commandment reads as when spoken by the voice of God in solemn and awful grandeur upon the mount, while the lightnings flashed and the thunders rolled; it is the same as when written with His own finger on the tables of stone: "Six days shalt thou labor, and do all thy work: but the seventh day is the Sabbath of the Lord thy God." They are amazed as they behold the care taken of the ten commandments. They see them placed close by Jehovah, overshadowed and protected by His holiness. They see that they have been trampling upon the fourth commandment of the decalogue, and have observed a day handed down by the heathen and papists, instead of the day sanctified by Jehovah. They humble themselves before God and mourn over their past transgressions. Early Writings p. 255

She saw them in heaven written just as the KJV has quoted it. Not as the NIV or the RSV or the NEB has quoted it. I know that the language of heaven is not the old English of the KJV but the meaning of what she was shown was the same. There was only one Sabbath, the Sabbath. The one and only immutable, unchangeable, eternal Sabbath. God recognizes no other Sabbath!

Is the Sabbath for everyone or is it just for the Jews? For everyone, right? "The Sabbath was made for man, and not man for the Sabbath". It was instituted at creation. It is for all mankind. That point is made clear in the text in Acts 13:42 by the example of the Gentiles:

And when the Jews were gone out of the synagogue, the Gentiles besought that these words might be preached to them the next Sabbath. Acts 13:42 KJV

They kept the Sabbath as they became Christians. But look at what some translations do with this text:

And as Paul and Barnabas were going out, the people kept begging that these things might be spoken to them the next Sabbath. Acts 13:42 NASB

As they were leaving the synagogue they were asked to come again and speak on these subjects next Sabbath; Acts 13:42 NEB

As they went out, the people begged that these things might be told them the next Sabbath. Acts 13:42 RSV

As Paul and Barnabas were leaving the synagogue, the people invited them to speak further about these things on the next Sabbath. Acts 13:42 NIV

Who did the KJV say were leaving? The Jews. Who did the KJV say asked them to preach in the synagogue on the next Sabbath? The Gentiles. But everyone of these makes it appear that the same people that heard the first sermon were the same ones inviting them back to speak on the same subject. Weren’t they listening? A couple of these translations change the Jews into Paul and Barnabas. Now I am sure that Paul and Barnabas were Jews but they were not preaching to themselves. Why did they change this texts? I propose it is because it cut across their teaching that the Sabbath was only for the Jews. Ellen White quotes the text according to the KJV. Read it in Acts of the Apostles p. 173.

It was prophesied in Lamentations 1:7 that the world would mock the Sabbath.

Jerusalem remembered in the days of her affliction and of her miseries all her pleasant things that she had in the days of old, when her people fell into the hand of the enemy, and none did help her: the adversaries saw her, and did mock at her Sabbaths. Lamentations 1:7 KJV

Read the whole book of Lamentations, it is a prophecy for us. But this prophecy is changed in all of the other versions. The NKJV, RSV, NIV, NASB, NEB, Clear Word, Living Bible and CEV all change the word ‘Sabbath’ into words like distruction, ruin, fallen state or downfall. What did Ellen White write? Isn’t Lamentations 1:7 a companion text for what she wrote in this reference:

But while anguish was upon the loyal and true who would not worship the beast or his image and accept and revere an idol sabbath, One said, "Look up! Look up!" Every eye was lifted, and the heavens seemed to part as a scroll when it is rolled together, and as Stephen looked into heaven, [so] we looked. The mockers were taunting and reviling us, and boasting of what they intended to do to us if we continued obstinate in holding fast our faith. But now we were as those who heard them not; we were gazing upon a scene that shut out everything else. 3 Selected Messages p. 428

Would it be wise to trust in a bible that didn’t support one of Gods true prophets?